Pool Injury: Personal Liability vs. Premises Liability

There are an average nine fatal drownings every day, with an estimated additional thirty-six serious pool injury victims daily. That means that owners and managers need to be more careful in maintaining and providing security around their pools, and swimmers need to know what to do in case they become one of those victims.

Personal or Premises Liability?

One of the first concepts to understand is that although personal and premises liabilities are similar, there are minor differences that may be important in obtaining the amount of compensation they deserve.

Personal liability is generally charged when an individual is negligent in some way, causing injury to another

Premises liability is generally charged when the condition of the property where the injury occurred is the cause of injury to a visitor

In fact, premises liability is a subcategory of personal liability law, allowing for a greater understanding of what is involved when a person is injured on property that is not their own.

What Is Premises Liability?

Owners, occupiers, and managers of property are held legally responsible for any accidents or injuries that occur on that property. They are considered to have a duty to provide a safe environment for visitors to that property. When injuries occur, the victims should investigate to learn if the owner/manager/occupier of that property may have been negligent in any of these ways:

If they caused a dangerous condition on the property, failed to repair it or warn visitors about it, and someone was injured as a result

If they knew about a dangerous condition on their property, failed to repair it or warn visitors about it, and someone was injured as a result

If they failed to practice appropriate maintenance on their property in a reasonable manner so that they should have known about a dangerous condition and repaired it or warned visitors about it, and someone was injured as a result

Types of Premises Liability Accidents and Injuries

These types of injuries often occur in the form of slip and fall accidents, dog attacks, swimming pool accidents, assaults (often upon employees on commercial property that the owner has not kept secure), and sexual assaults.

Comparative or Contributory Fault

States vary on how they approach personal liability and premises liability cases. In addition, they differ on whether they allow comparative fault judgments or disallow them through the doctrine of contributory fault.

Comparative fault allows the victim and the defendant to share fault, as well as share compensation responsibility for accident injuries

Contributory fault often rules that if a victim had any significant fault for their own injury, they cannot collect any damages from a defendant

Getting Legal Help with Personal Injury or Premises Liability Claims

One of the most difficult parts of any personal liability or premises liability claim is determining who is at fault and how much fault should be attributed to them. It can be a hard-fought battle in settlement negotiations or court battles to prove these elements. A victim or their family should retain a premises liability lawyer who is a skilled negotiator or litigator to be sure they receive the largest amount of compensation possible for any such injuries suffered.

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